Egypt's president pulls back on power decree, pushes referendum

By Reza Sayah, CNN

Updated 9:26 PM ET, Sat December 8, 2012

Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – A street vendor grills corn as Egyptian soldiers stand guard at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, December 18, in Cairo. Protesters opposed to President Mohamed Morsy's first round of voting in the constitutional referendum gather during continuing demonstrations.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Protesters chant slogans during a demonstration at the Presidential Palace on December 18 in Cairo.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – An Egyptian woman types on her laptop before the start of a demonstration opposing President Mohamed Morsy on December 18 in Cairo.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – People make their way through a market place on Monday, December 17, in Cairo.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – A supporter of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood holds Quran as he shouts during a demonstration in Cairo on Friday, December 14.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Women pray during a demonstration in support of President Mohamed Morsy in Cairo on December 14.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Egyptian army tanks are deployed outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Thursday, December 13. Egypt's crisis showed no sign of easing as the army delayed unity talks meant to ease political divisions and the opposition set near-impossible demands for taking part in a looming constitutional referendum.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Girls walk with Egypt's national flag draped over their backs to a rally for supporters of President Mohamed Morsy in Cairo on Tuesday, December 11.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Protesters on December 11 attempt to bring down cement walls that security forces placed around the presidential palace in Cairo.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Security forces stand guard in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on December 11.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Protesters opposed to Egypt's president demonstrate on top of a barricade erected by the Egyptian army to protect the presidential palace in Cairo on December 11.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – A young protester climbs atop a barricade erected by the Egyptian army on December 11. There were no incidents of violence and soldiers held the line as a couple of hundred protesters pressed up against waist-high crowd barriers.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Protesters remove part of a metal barrier protecting the presidential palace on December 11.

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Egyptians protest president's powers61 photos

Egyptians protest presidential powers – Egyptian army troops stand guard in front of a metal barricade on December 11.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – An Egyptian army soldier patrols outside the Egyptian presidential palace on Monday, December 10, in Cairo. The Egyptian political crisis erupted last month when President Mohamed Morsy issued an edict allowing himself to run the country unchecked until the drafting of a new constitution.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Members of the Egyptian opposition gather for a protest outside the presidential palace on Sunday, December 9, in Cairo. The palace has been the scene of violent clashes pitting thousands of protesters -- for and against Morsy.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Guy Fawkes masks are displayed by a street vendor in front of the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo on December 9. The masks depict Fawkes, a rebel executed in England's Gunpowder Plot seeking to blow up the House of Lords in the early 1600s.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – Egyptian army engineers and soldiers build a third line of concrete blocks outside of the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo in preparation for more protests on December 9.

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Egyptians protest presidential powers – An Egyptian protester sweeps the street near army tanks deployed outside the presidential palace in Cairo on December 8, after continued protests overnight.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A sticker depicting Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy reads "leave" on the ground near the presidential palace on December 8.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptian soldiers take position on a road leading to the presidential palace on December 8.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A protester tries to climb over a barbed-wire fence as Egyptian soldiers stand guard during a demonstration near the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday, December 7.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy and members of the Muslim Brotherhood shout during the funerals of fellow Morsy supporters at Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo on December 7.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Protesters angry over Morsy's decisions giving himself unchecked powers surround the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo after starting a fire inside the compound on Thursday, December 6.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Riot police form a line as anti-Morsy protesters surge around the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo on December 6.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An anti-Morsy protester shouts during a march to the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on December 6.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Protesters are blocked from approaching the the presidential palace by the Egyptian army on December 6 in Cairo.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsy supporters destroy tents of anti-Morsy protesters outside the presidential palace on December 5.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Morsy supporters carry an injured man to safety during clashes with anti-Morsy demonstrators on a road leading to the Egyptian presidential palace on December 5.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of Morsy clash with anti-Morsy demonstrators on a road leading to the Egyptian presidential palace on December 5.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptian riot police stand behind barbwire as thousands of Egyptian demonstrators march to the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, December 4.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Tens of thousands of demonstrators encircled the presidential palace in Cairo after riot police failed to keep them at bay with tear gas on December 4.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An Egyptian woman waves a national flag as demonstrators march to the presidential palace in Cairo on December 4.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A Morsy supporter waves a flag outside the Supreme Constitutional Court as hundreds of supporters of the president protest on Sunday, December 2, in Cairo, forcing judges to postpone a hearing on a constitutional panel at the heart of a deepening political crisis.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A man kisses a portrait of Morsy during a gathering of thousands of Islamists in front of Cairo University on Saturday, December 1.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Thousands pray during a rally in support of Morsy in front of Cairo University on December 1.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An Egyptian man delivers a speech as protesters gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, November 30.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A man shouts as protesters gather in Tahrir Square on November 30.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A man holds a copy of the Quran and a cross in Tahrir Square on November 30.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Protesters run from Egyptian riot police during clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, November 28.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A protester carries a rock during clashes with police on Wednesday.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptians carry a giant national flag as tens of thousands take part in a mass rally in Cairo on Tuesday, November 27, against a decree by President Mohamed Morsy granting himself broad powers.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An Egyptian protester holds up a Quran and a figure of Christ on the cross during Tuesday's demonstration.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – An Egyptian protester attempts to throw back a tear gas canister on Tuesday during clashes with riot police in Omar Makram Street, off Tahrir Square.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Activists in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday, November 26, carry the coffin of Gaber Salah, an activist who died overnight after he was critically injured in clashes in Cairo. Salah, a member of the April 6 movement known by his nickname "Jika," was injured last week during confrontations between police and protesters on Cairo's Mohammed Mahmud street.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Protesters clash with Egyptian police at Simon Bolivar Square on Sunday, November 25, in Cairo. Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood called nationwide demonstrations in support of Islamist President Mohamed Morsy in his showdown with the judges over the path to a new constitution.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy waves to supporters in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday, November 23. Thousands of ecstatic supporters gathered outside the presidential palace to defend their leader against accusations from rival protesters that he has become a dictator.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Morsy supporters gather outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday. Morsy insisted that Egypt was on the path to "freedom and democracy," as protesters held rival rallies over sweeping powers he assumed that further polarized the country's political forces.

Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Egyptian supporters and opponents of Morsy clash in the coastal city of Alexandria on Friday.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – A man throws a rock during clashes in Alexandria on Friday.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Thousands of demonstrators march through the streets of Cairo to protest against Morsy on Friday.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers – Clashes rocked the coastal city of Alexandria on Friday.

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Story highlights

Youth leader dismisses the move, describing it as a "farce"

The decree gave Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy sweeping powers

He vows to move forward with a December 15 referendum on a draft constitution

The opposition wants the referendum postponed

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy early Sunday canceled most of a controversial decree that gave him sweeping powers, but vowed to press forward with a referendum next weekend on a draft constitution, an adviser said.

The move was an apparent attempt to end a political crisis that has spilled into the streets, pitting the president's supporters and opponents against one another and raising questions about Morsy's ability to lead the fragile democracy.

Almost as soon as adviser Mohamed Selim el-Awwa laid out the offer, many in the opposition dismissed it.

The cancellation of the decree, which put Morsy's decisions above judicial oversight, was not retroactive, meaning any decisions he made since its announcement still stand. Those decisions, which include the approval of the draft constitution, cannot be challenged by the courts.

Also, the president did not postpone a December 15 referendum on the draft constitution, as protesters demand.

The development came after a meeting at the presidential palace that many in the opposition boycotted.

"This is a farce," said Ahmed Selim, a member of the opposition April 6 youth movement, vowing to "take to the streets nationwide to continue to protest this dictator and his stubbornness."

"We are not fools and this new decree serves no one but his followers," Selim said.

In contrast, Ayman Nour, an opposition leader who attended the meeting at the palace, described the cancellation of the decree as a positive step.

"(It) has opened the door to a possible solution to a national crisis and may calm the situation down," he said.

Egyptian authorities said at least six people have been killed in violent clashes in recent days, while the Muslim Brotherhood -- the group that backs Morsy -- has said eight of its members were killed.

The crisis erupted in late November when Morsy issued the edict allowing himself to run the country unchecked until a new constitution was drafted, a move that sat uncomfortably with many Egyptians who said it reminded them of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's rule.

Morsy had said the powers were necessary and temporary. But that promise did little to quiet the opposition.

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Anger at Morsy's move led to protesters reoccupying Tahrir Square, the scene of the Arab Spring uprising that saw Mubarak ousted in 2011. Thousands later protested outside the palace, where the opposition clashed with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The anger only grew when the Islamist-dominated Constitutional Assembly pushed through a draft despite the objections of the secular opposition, including some members who walked out in protest. Tens of thousands of protesters -- for and against Morsy -- took to the streets.

A coalition of Egyptian Islamic parties, including the Brotherhood, rejects any postponement in the constitutional referendum, the Islamic Forces Alliance announced Saturday on the Brotherhood website.

The deputy head of Muslim Brotherhood, Khairet El-Shatir, also read the Alliance's statement in a press conference.

The Alliance won't allow under any circumstance the return of the corrupt Mubarak regime. El-Shatir said. The Alliance includes 13 parties such as the Al-Nour party and the Salafist front.

The statement also warned against manipulating the will of the people by forcefully overtaking the state.

"We assure the Egyptian people that the Alliance of the Islamic Forces is very keen to preserve the security of the homeland, stopping the bloodshed," El-Shatir said.

Egypt's military leaders, who took control of the country after Mubarak's ouster, were keeping a wary eye on the developments, according to a statement released by the Egyptian armed forces and read on state-media.

"The armed forces are watching with sadness and worries the current developments in the country, with its consequences and how it led to divisions," the statement said, according to state media.

"We stress that dialogue is the ideal and only solution to reach an agreement that realizes the interests of the nation and its citizens. Anything other than that will lead us into a dark tunnel with catastrophic consequences, which we will never allow to happen."

Adel Saeed, a spokesman for Egypt's newly appointed general prosecutor, said Friday morning that opposition figures Hamdeen Sabahy, Mohamed El Baradei and Amr Moussa are being investigated for allegedly "conspiring to topple" the government.

All three are well-known internationally; ElBaradei being a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Moussa a onetime head of the Arab League, and Sabahy is an Egyptian political figure. They are now being probed for their role in the opposition against Morsy.

ElBaradei said on Twitter: "I call upon all the national forces and figures not to participate in a dialogue that lacks all the basics of a truthful discourse. We support a dialogue that is not based on the policy of arm-twisting and forcing the status quo."

Those taking part in the protests around the North African nation say the scenes are similar to those of the 2011 uprising that led to Mubarak's ouster. This time, they say, dissent is being vigorously stamped out by Morsy's backers in government and on the street.

Specifically, they spoke of thugs with knives and rocks chasing activists, presidential backers belittling opponents and pressure from various quarters to go home and be quiet.